Articles by: Bill DeMain

Louder Together we're Louder

Bill DeMain is a correspondent for BBC Glasgow, a regular contributor to MOJO, Classic Rock and Mental Floss, and the author of six books, including the best-selling Sgt. Pepper At 50. He is also an acclaimed musician and songwriter who's written for artists including Marshall Crenshaw, Teddy Thompson and Kim Richey. His songs have appeared in TV shows such as Private Practice and Sons of Anarchy. In 2013, he started Walkin' Nashville, a music history tour that's been the #1 rated activity on Trip Advisor. An avid bird-watcher, he also makes bird cards and prints.

Articles by: Bill DeMain

The soundtrack of my life: Jellyfish's Roger Manning Jr

By Bill DeMain published 15 November 22

Jellyfish founder member and keyboard player Roger Manning Jr picks his records, artists and gigs of lasting significance, and reveals the song that makes him cry

Peter Frampton: the ultimate career interview

By Bill DeMain last updated 4 November 22

Over a six-decade career, Peter Frampton has lived the rock life to its fullest, playing many parts – prodigy, teen idol, guitar hero, global superstar, forgotten man, comeback kid, survivor

The story of the all-time Kinks classic that came to Ray Davies in a dream

By Bill DeMain published 3 November 22

One critic described Waterloo Sunset as "the most beautiful song in the English language", and for some it's the ultimate London anthem

Why the new album from Dawes is an exercise in not checking boxes

By Bill DeMain published 15 September 22

Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith on digging jazz, doing things on his own terms, and Bob Dylan confusing him with Taylor Swift

The story of the show that turned Prince into a global superstar

By Bill DeMain published 1 September 22

Purple Rain represented Prince’s breakthrough moment, but it was the tour that followed – and one show in particular – that turned him into a living legend

How a song about an imaginary break-up with a twist became The Cars' first classic

By Bill DeMain published 31 August 22

Ric Ocasek's 1978 hit My Best Friend's Girl was the song that consolidated The Cars' sound and style

It looks like a beer bong and sounds like a robot: the story of Joe Walsh's Rocky Mountain Way

By Bill DeMain published 25 August 22

Rocky Mountain Way came to Joe Walsh as he mowed his lawn, much to the detriment of his furious neighbour's rose bushes

David Bowie as John Merrick in the bath, sponging himself

How David Bowie’s role as the Elephant Man was almost his last

By Bill DeMain published 23 August 22

David Bowie received glowing reviews for his performance as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, but the run ended with Bowie distraught and escaping into seclusion

Watch an inebriated Ace Frehley wreak havoc during Kiss's interview on The Tomorrow Show

By Bill DeMain published 16 August 22

It's 1979, it's Halloween, ands Ace Frehley has had a drink

The Beatles onstage with policemen looking on

How The Beatles became the first band to make a stand for civil rights

By Bill DeMain published 15 August 22

In 1964, faced with playing segregated audiences in the southern United States, The Beatles took a stand

Johnny Cash and Ida Lupino on the set of Columbo

Johnny Cash may not have shot a man in Reno but he murdered his wife on Columbo

By Bill DeMain published 11 August 22

Just one more thing... The story of the time Johnny Cash played country-gospel singing murderer Tommy Brown on Columbo, taking the Man In Black places he'd never been before.

What happened when the FBI tried to decipher The Kingsmen's Louie Louie

By Bill DeMain last updated 15 August 22

With the dumbest of dumb riffs and lyrics that launched an FBI investigation, The Kingsmen's version of Louie Louie has a history unlike any other song

John Lennon and Dennis Elsas in front of a rack of albums

The day John Lennon became a disc jockey on New York's biggest radio station

By Bill DeMain last updated 15 August 22

What happened when John Lennon showed up at WNEW-FM and broadcast for two hours – a show that's still talked about nearly 50 years later

Gerry Rafferty, Baker Street, and the sax intro that gave birth to an urban legend

By Bill DeMain published 4 August 22

Raphael Ravenscroft's sax intro gave Gerry Rafferty's Baker Street its classic status - but no one can agree how it happened

The Chain: the story of a beloved Fleetwood Mac song built from spare parts

By Bill DeMain published 3 August 22

How the song that best represents the forged strength of Fleetwood Mac was assembled from the chopped-up pieces of others

Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi holding guitars

Tedeschi Trucks Band: why you should never take the moon for granted

By Bill DeMain published 2 August 22

Tedeschi Trucks Band have woven the isolation of the pandemic and a classic Arabic tale of love about into a four-album project that’s both epic and intimate

How a Tom Petty reject gave Don Henley the ultimate song of lost innocence

By Bill DeMain published 29 July 22

"I've just written the best song I've written in ten years" - from an unwanted demo came Boys Of Summer, a song that aches with nostalgia and innocence

The Knack in 1980 with (inset) Sharona Alperin

The Knack's My Sharona: an everyday tale of obsession, rejection and real estate

By Bill DeMain published 27 July 22

Sharona Alperin used to dance at Knack shows before she was banned from them: This is the story of her song

The story behind My Sweet Lord by George Harrison

By Bill DeMain published 20 July 22

How a love song to a higher power earned The Beatles man a $1.6 million lawsuit

Ayron Jones sitting on a box in an old machinery shed

Ayron Jones: when music is taken away, you realise you were taking it for granted

By Bill DeMain published 6 July 22

Seattle’s rising guitar star Ayron Jones on festivals, Jeff Beck and a budding love affair with France

Edgar Winter and the album that transformed his suffering into joy

By Bill DeMain published 9 June 22

The late Johnny Winter’s brother Edgar reveals the story of the star-studded album dedicated to the blues great

What happened when Ann Wilson met Lzzy Hale

By Bill DeMain published 4 May 22

Heart's Ann Wilson and Halestorm's Lzzy Hale on sibling bands, connecting with an audience, and staying grounded when success throws you sideways

"It really upset me, and it really affected me": the story of Johnny Cash's haunting Hurt

By Bill DeMain published 11 April 22

Johnny Cash's iconic version of Nine Inch Nails’ Hurt was nothing if not unlikely, but the Man In Black was no stranger to unlikely cover versions

Spoon interview: toast, marmalade, and Lucifer On The Sofa

By Bill DeMain published 8 March 22

Almost 20 years into their career, Spoon are back with album number 10 and a playlist that helped inspire it

Eric Gales: the 10 records that changed my life

By Bill DeMain published 2 February 22

Stevie Ray Vaughan, every John Lee Hooker album, the entire genre of gospel, and much more: these are the albums that changed Eric Gales' life

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